Mr-Fusion
I'm as surprised as anybody that there's a hundred-minute documentary about an 8-minute short film. On the surface, at least. The production of "Batman: Dead End" occupies a fraction of this film, and the rest is a character study of its director, Sandy Collora. And warts-and-all is an understatement. Collora fancies himself a fighter in a battle to bring his visions to the masses, while those around him perceive him as . . . kind of a dick. I'm conflicted on where I stand on the man, but he has his supporters, and their admiration feels genuine. I was more interested in the man than I was in the Batman movie, and that's saying something.
spryarnaud
I liked this film a lot. It was a very interesting and revealing documentary about someone who I have respect for a long time. In 2003, Sandy Collora made a short film that had Batman against the Joker, aliens and the Predator. It owned SDCC that summer and was an overnight sensation and propelled the brash director into the Hollywood stratosphere. This is as complete a story as anyone could tell about the phenomenon that was "Batman Dead End" and its creator Sandy Collora. It was much more than I expected, Its very detailed and covers a lot of ground. It shows how powerful an artist Collora really is in every way. He made Batman cool again and showed WB the way. He still is the only director to ever put a real Batman on the screen right out of the comics. The studios with all their money still can't get it right. Neil Adams agrees in the documentary. This movie is very inspiring and anyone who wants to be a movie maker or artist needs to see this. It should be required viewing in film schools. I am looking forward to THE CIRCLE!My only 2 gripes are the camera work is not good with the people being interviewed constantly going in and out of focus is totally distracting and not necessary. And why was Sean Clark in this film? Norman Reedus was not in Batman Dead End. What did he have to do with any of this and why are his opinions concerned? Maybe he is friends with the film makers. 7/10 is my rating. If they hired someone to focus the camera it would have been 8 or 9.
Loren Fallon
I saw the Batman Dead End short when it came out but had no idea what was "Behind the Mask" of this movie and this man. This Docu is a sort of brutal look into what happens behind the scenes and what it takes to make a film. I admire Sandy Collora's honesty, artistic integrity and his talent. All things this movie clearly shows. I follow him on Facebook and his posts are always inspiring and thought provoking. he seems like a good guy. This was really good and very well made interesting Docu that I recommend a lot. It has a lot of heart and is a very moving portrait of an artist who seems to be misunderstood. I salute Sandy and his work and his decisions. He obviously cares about what he puts out there and on the screen and it shows. I hope all the projects he has developing at the end of this film are going to happen. I would go to see them.
brianrosenthal82
Batman: Dead End is a uniquely amazing fanfilm. Gorgeous production design, solid direction, wonderful cinematography, fantastic practical FX, and so many geek-out moments it's hard to even keep track. If you haven't seen it, I urge you to check it out, its still all over YouTube to this day. Sandy Collora (the director), an industry vet and director's chair hopeful, put together a serious chunk of his own change back in the early 2000s, and assembled a team of highly talented folks within the industry to carry out his vision of an unapologetically comic-book inspired Batman pitted against some of geekdom's greatest icons. This documentary explores what drove him to do it, how it was done, the highs, the lows, and the fallout/aftermath of the whole thing. As a hopeful filmmaker myself, this became my "Star Wars"... a film that inspired me and opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. All I knew was "this was done independently, it's on the internet for everyone to see, and it's freakin amazing". My own fanfilm, "Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness", owes a great debt of gratitude to Sandy and Batman: Dead End. Without his film, mine wouldn't exist, and neither would thousands of others, I suspect. Credit where credit's due, Sandy Collora is the George Lucas of fanfilms, and I mean that with the utmost respect. As the documentary reveals, he might not have catapulted into Hollywood stardom as hoped, but he pioneered the trail and inspired a generation of us. Definitely worth a watch, especially for budding filmmakers.
AD
